Five Years Next Sunday by Idza Lubumyo

Five Years Next Sunday 📚

This story 5 years next sunday exemplifies magical realism and allows the reader to truly connect with the protagonist. This story is about a Kenyan woman who has supernatural powers through her hair. Her power allows rain to come when its cut but in this story she hadn't cut her hair in 5 years. A white foreigner man sees Pili's hair and instantly  becomes obsessed with how it looks. In the story he shows up to her home and has long conversations with her parents. Some sort of exchange seems to happen. Throughout the story Seth, the foreigner, and Pili become more and more familiar with one another where it seems to be a relationship going on. In exchange for this relationship where he becomes more and more obsessed with her hair, there is an exchange of money happening between Seth and Pili's parents. In the story it implies that Seth has already been dating a women named "Honey". The story also implies those weren't their real names and my hunch is that they scam people like Pili. 

Throughout the story Pili starts to have a relationship with Honey where Pili starts to have feelings for her. Time goes on and Honey starts to question why and what happens if she cuts her hair. Pili tells Honey that it will rain but as readers we know much more can happen to Pili if she chooses to cut her hair. Her family has been telling her no to cut it, there's no need for rain. Her hair signified a superpower that not many people have/had.

At the end of the story Honey creates this false narrative that she will run away with Pili and have a relationship with her IF she cuts her hair. Pili is so blinded by love that she doesn't realize Honey is not being genuine. At the 5 year mark, Pili cuts her hair and it starts thunder storming! 🌧☔

Pili goes to show Honey that she finished cutting her hair but she was gone. Seth was gone. She goes outside to see people from her town with rage and behind them she can see Honey running away with her cut locs.... 💇💔

I can empathize so much with Pili, especially when her family starts to only like her when they are benefiting from her and what she has. Its sad to see that she couldn't even call her mother, "ma". I couldn't imagine not having a close relationship with my mother, let alone, everyone in my family. Pili must've been so lonely knowing she was different from her family and knowing the only other person she was like was no loner there probably felt lonelier. I'm not surprised Pili fell for a ingenuine person, maybe she thought someone had actually loved her and wanted to get away from her town.. for once. 

#fa23worldlit ❤